


December 5, 2011

by Randomprojects



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Character Death, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-24 18:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3780316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Randomprojects/pseuds/Randomprojects
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If not Namatame, then who?</p>
            </blockquote>





	December 5, 2011

In the end, you simply don’t know.

When Naoto had brought up the possibility that there is another mastermind behind the case, nobody came to mind. The only people who knew about the TV world are you, your friends, and Namatame. No one else knows what the other side of a TV looks like, and the only people who have detailed information on the crime scenes would never put Nanako in harm’s way. Your uncle would rather die than let anything befall Nanako, and Adachi is harmless and good natured, despite his complaints and a tendency to slack off while on the job. The last eight months you spent interacting with the two men taught you that, if nothing else.

Who else but Namatame could have done it? He has to be the killer.

Right?

So you keep quiet until Naoto sighs, her breath a puff of white mist that joined the fog blanketing the town. “It looks like our only option is to be patient… Namatame has committed his crimes, and he has already been arrested.”

“So you’re saying that no matter what we do, it’s pretty much case closed?” Yosuke mutters on your other side, Naoto nodding in resignation.

“Though the truth may be forever lost in darkness.”

Yosuke glances up. “Lost in fog, you mean.”

You feel your lips quirk reflexively, even though nothing about this is funny, and no-nonsense Naoto flashes a humorless smile at the comment before going back into Aiya. “It’s too cold out here,” she says by way of explanation, uncharacteristically vehement, as the door slides shut behind her.

You shoot Yosuke a questioning glance. He stays where he is, beside you -- shivering -- so you stay too. He’s so close it feels like you could feel every vibration, and before you know it you’ve moved even closer, seeking his radiation, both of you looking up at the murky sky together. The snow, the clouds, your shaky exhales -- they melt into fog in the night sky, and you watch them swirl together like shadows, like silence, like inevitability, a long, winding road towards nothingness. You distantly register the wind against your face, the sound of chattering teeth that stops when you hold yourself absolutely still.

Then the cold hits you all at once; the violent shudder that rips through your frame sends you crashing against Yosuke’s shoulder. “Woah!” He furrows his brows in alarmed concern as he catches you, the points of contact searing through layers of clothing. “Are you okay?”

“It’s freezing.” You hiss, numb fingers clutching the hands on your arms like a lifeline; why haven’t you noticed the chill before? Naoto was right to go back inside, to warm meals and friends and four solid walls to block out this dense fog seeping into your bones.

“Y-yeah,” he stutters, grip tightening in what looks like a flinch of surprised embarrassment. But he holds on after the moment had passed, and you look at him, blinking snow from your lashes, both of you shivering still. He looks as if he wanted to say more, chapped lips parted, but he drops his hands with a shake of his head and nudges you towards Aiya instead. The wind howls; you feel as though you’ll never be warm again. “Yeah, you’re right, partner. Let’s get back inside,” he says, trudging back to where the rest of the gang are waiting. You follow him and miss the lingering warmth of his fingers already, the shape of his hands in yours.

Rise rushes to the door when you both stumble in, looking at you with worried eyes, while Kanji shoves a cup of tea in Yosuke’s hands; you’re still close enough that you feel his startled jerk before you hear the yelp that accompanies it, and the familiar back-and-forth between him and Chie as she teases him about the spilled tea warms you a little (not enough). Rise takes your cold hands between hers, recoiling a little at the chill as you wince, sensation rushing back into your fingers like a firebrand. “Sempai, you’re freezing!” She chides, rubbing your palms down briskly, “Are you sure you’re alright? No frostbite or anything?”

You slide your gaze towards Yosuke and think of Nanako, paler than the sheets of the hospital bed she’s laying on, and your uncle collapsing to his knees by her bedside. You think of the fog, of the mystery unsolved; of Namatame convicted of a crime he might not have committed, and the lack of evidence pointing towards anyone else.

_But... if not him, then who? It has to be him._

“Sempai?” Rise asks, her eyes dark and liquid, shining in concern.  

“I’m fine,” you tell her, not quite sure if it’s a lie.

( _In the end it doesn’t matter anyway. Inbaba erupts in Shadows, and Naoto’s terrified scream on the phone was the last you heard from anyone. Between one breath and the next you come to the realization that you’ve led them all to their deaths; this is the thought that loops in your mind as you topple to the floor, choking on fog._

 _In the end, you think, they shouldn’t have trusted you._ )


End file.
